Building a rational transit network makes the TTC the
better way for everyone

Tell your councillor and the Mayor that cities around the world use a mixture of subways, LRT, buses, and regional trains to ensure growth, and Toronto can do it too. Tell them that you support rational evidence-based decision making, and that stable, predictable funding for transit expansion and operation keeps the economic engine of the GTHA strong, and provides better mobility and options for GTHA residents.

Toronto has new rapid transit being built – over 50 kilometres of it! New lines will open in 2019-2021 in Etobicoke, Scarborough, and across the city along Eglinton Avenue too. The old Scarborough RT will be replaced and extended, and hundreds of thousands of residents will have new transit options.

But it’s not over: we need to ensure that councillors know they have support for this plan, especially since construction projects (subway and LRT) always annoy residents despite their future benefits. We also need to ensure the projects go forward in a smart way! Local concerns like stop spacing, stoplight timing, and more must be considered and the result must be improved and more rapid transit for riders.

We also have multiple elections between now and when those lines are completed. The most important message we can share with elected representatives and anyone campaigning: going backwards is not an option.

Who else needs to hear from me?

1. Metrolinx, the provincial agency that is creating these rapid transit lines in cooperation with the TTC. They need to know that we’re watching and we want modern rapid transit without wasted funds! Contact them at their website.

2. Premier Kathleen Wynne. She and the provincial cabinet have ultimate control over Metrolinx and the TTC and the City of Toronto. Make it clear that your concerns impact how you vote and that all of Toronto needs rational, affordable, rapid transit. Contact Premier Wynne at her website.

3. Minister of Transportation Steven Del Duca. As government minister responsible for Metrolinx, he ensures that the agency follows directives of Cabinet and the will of City Council. Tell the Minister that his responsibility is to all of the Toronto region, not only certain councillors or the Mayor alone. Contact him at the Ministry website.

4. The Prime Minister. The federal government does not have a coherent infrastructure and transit strategy, and predictable stable funding requires their support. Tell him that 80% of Canadians live in urban areas, and depoliticizing transit funding is an important goal. Contact him at his website.

How to Help

LEARN about Transit and why there's room for subways, light rail, and streetcars in our region, and how light rail is actually a great city-building choice for the lower-density neighbourhoods in Etobicoke, Scarborough, and North York.

CALL your City Councillor, and tell them that you want rational, affordable, and rapid transit in Toronto to benefit everyone, not just one small section of the city. Rapid transit to Malvern, Morningside, Jane & Finch are achievable if we learn from successful transit networks around the world.

TELL your friends and family that subways are amazing - they really are! - but with limited funding we have to make rational decisions about whether to support more residents or leave people waiting for crowded buses for decades longer.

Did you know: The bus routes on Finch have over 85% of the ridership of the (much shorter) Sheppard Subway, and the bus routes on Eglinton already have over 140%! The lengths differ but the need is common in many areas of the city. We are decades behind and need better transit options for our residents now.